Real life is boring, or is it real?
by ProbablyADeadAccount
Summary: Everyone knows that reality is quite boring. Iruka is one of them too. That's why he escapes it with his books about ninjas. But what if the reality he knows is actually just an illusion? Alternate Universe - University!; World Travel; KakaIru;
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N:_** This idea came in a really stupid way. I was sitting in class with my best friend and I was burning with inspiration. Then I asked her "Do you have any ideas for a story? I have no idea what to write.." and she was like "Write about your life. *laughs*". That was a joke of course. But I took it seriously... "Hey, why are looking at me like this?"...me - "I'm gonna do it. *serious tone*". And so, because life itself is a plot twist, this story is pretty much the same! Yup, boredom can really influence the way you think...Oh well, enjoy this AU [Alternate Universe - University] story~

* * *

The bell rang, its tone piercing everyone's ears. Iruka heard someone swear over it and he himself frowned. The next class was Maths. Even though everyone hated it, Iruka was actually doing well, like every other subject. And now you'd think: "Being the smartest kid in class must be great, right?" No. Iruka's life sucked exactly because of that. He barely had two friends who he can rely on. No one liked him because he was always studying or reading a book in his free time. He practically lived more in his own, little world in his head than in the actual world. But hey, what's wrong with that? It's not like he was the only one. He entered the almost empty classroom, the reason being that most of his classmates skipped Maths. But yeah, there's that 3rd type of person, called Hatake Kakashi. He was sitting on the last desk, legs over it, next to the window, his nose buried in that orange-covered book. Oh well, different type of person - different type of book. It was R-18. But, he still was the most popular guy in the whole university. Yeah, he was quite handsome, his face and nose nicely shaped, dark gray eye staring at the white pages, or so he thought, his left eye was always covered, was it with a white eye patch, or his messy, silver and shiny hair, even though rarely. Sometimes a vertical scar could be seen under and every time Iruka's eyes caught it, he couldn't help but get curious. There were some rumors going around about an incident that happened a long time ago, which was the most logical possibility. Maybe it wasn't a beautiful sight and that's why he hid it.

He lost his train of thoughts when he suddenly felt someone trip him and the next thing he knew was that he was on the flat ground. The books he was previously holding were now scattered on the floor and the room was filled with laughter.

"Pretty clumsy, aren't you?" Mizuki asked with that arrogant voice of his. Iruka was just so used to this that he already knew what the other was going to do and say. It was always like this.  
Everyone from his class was a typical university student. They smoked cigarettes and weed and skipped most of the classes. The teachers were so fed up with this that they didn't even bother to punish them and so on. But Iruka wasn't like that. That was the reason no one liked him. He was perfect when it came to grades and was every teacher's favourite. Well, almost everyone did. Hatake had never even talked with him. Not even a simple "Hi" or "Bye". And that's the reason he knew almost nothing about him. The only thing he knew was that he was the most popular guy in the whole university and perhaps, a pervert, judging by his taste in literature...he has never seen him without that novel in his hands.

Iruka finally sat on his desk, which was at the front, in the center.

"Open your books, page 67." Mr. Uchiha said. Well, no one, exept Iruka, did it. Most were staring blankly through the window, playing some card games and the few girls reapplying their make-up. Oh, and don't forget, that last type who was still reading his porn novel. The brunette sighed.

"..ka. Iruka!" The teacher finally got his attention. "Are you okay? I've never seen you so distracted."

"Yes, sorry, Mr. Uchiha..What were you asking again?"

"The answer to this problem."

"It's x∈(-∞; 7,59]."

"Correct."

And so, the class passed and lunch brake came. Iruka went outside and sat on a bench, under a lonely tree, just like him. He checked his food if it was poisoned, just in case, because yes, it has happened before, so he wouldn't be surprised if they put some kind of drug. When he was sure that everything was fine, he started eating.

"Hey, Iruka!" He heard a familiar voice. It was Genma and next to him - Raidō. Those two were maybe his only friends in the whole university.

"Hi, Genma, Raidō." Iruka said with a soft voice, smiling. "Come and sit."

"So, how's it goin'?" Genma asked.

"Not so bad, I guess. No change in the grades and...same things, mainly with Mizuki.

"And ya call this okay? Ah, those guys, they see one decent person and immediately strike, so annoyin'."

"Tell me about it...so, what about you guys?"

"We are fine. We've got a test the next class though. Oh, how I hate Chemistry!" Raidō frowned. "My grades keep dropping because of it.."

"Well, then move your lazy ass and do some work. Pun intended." Genma smirked.

"We'll see who's the one who moves his 'lazy ass' tonight." Raidō pulled Genma closer by his waist and grinned at the almost invisible blush, spreading on both Genma and Iruka's cheeks.

"Ugh, I wasn't asking for school but you two. And as I can see, everything is alright."

"Heh, it sure is. Um, we gotta go, we don't wanna be late or Mrs. Karma will punish us."

"Karma?" Iruka raised his brow. "You said you're going to have Chemistry which means...Mrs. Moegi?"

"Yeah, you know, reasons behind every nickname."

"I thought she was pretty cool..."

"When you're the smartest guy in the class, of course every teacher would be cool for you! But not when you get her mad to the point her vein on her head pops out."

"Yeah, right, see you two later!" Iruka waved goodbye. 'I should go back too.'

* * *

While looking for the second volume of his Icha Icha, Kakashi heard someone's muffled, deep and threatening voice.

"Oh, yes, you will!"

"Mizuki, I said no. It's not my business, so just back off." another calm voice answered.

"Hoo, you say that it's not your business, huh? We'll see about that."

The next thing the silverhead heard was a loud slam. He decided to take a look. Mizuki had slammed Iruka('or was that his name?') and was pinning him against the lockers.

"So, what were you saying again?"

"I'll repeat it clearly and you better hear me this time. Now go away, please, I'm going to be late for the class you're skipping because your brain can't take it." Iruka said. 'Uh-oh, I shouldn't have said that...'

'Now he did it...What a stubborn guy, he clearly is in trouble but still refuses to play along.'

"Nee, Iruka...are ya lookin' for trouble?" Iruka trembled at the sickening grin Mizuki made. Just when he was about to punch the brunette, someone pulled Mizuki up by the back of his uniform's collar. Iruka opened his eyes, which he had closed to get ready for the blow, and then widened them. 'What's with this strenght!?' It was Hatake, the guy he's never talked to before. Maybe because he was too nerdy for a cool guy like him.

"Maa, Mizuki, don't you know that hitting your classmates is against the rules?"

"Put me down, shut up and stay out of this, Hatake! Just looking at his face makes me want to kill!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and observed Iruka's face: Damn, he looked so innocent.  
"I don't see anything wrong with _his_ face but if you don't leave soon, _your_ face may get a _little_ swollen." He threatened and smiled, cracking his knuckles.

"Curse you, Hatake!" Mizuki left with a last scary glance at Iruka, which made him shiver in a bad way.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, thank you but you didn't have to get involved, it would ruin your reputation. Also, if I wanted to be protected, I could have done it myself."

"Ho? So if I'm famous means that I can't help the others? Too bad. And you almost got punched, and from what it looked like, pretty hard."

"Well, I may not look like it but am very fit and I train Aikido so I didn't need to be saved."

"Haa, so the quiet, excellent student of ours has his secret side, hm?" the silverhead teased.

'I've only known him for a minute or so and I already don't like him. Why do the popular guys always have to be jerks? And why is he popular anyways?' Iruka didn't see so much in him, except the handsome face and his unusual strenght. Not that he was impressed, he just happened to be in the right time and the right place.  
"I didn't know you were such a tease, either." Iruka answered.

"If you raise your head from the books you read, you may have learned at least this."

"Hah, says the one who reads porn novels in public."

"You got me there." Kakashi grinned. "What did Mizuki want from you anyways? Looks like this happens a lot. I mean everyday, either a prank or something else, nothing good. From a distance, it looked like he was about to rape you. What's he up to?"

"Making me regret life? And he is successful. He wanted me to do his projects so he could pull his grades up. But there's no way I'm helping that bird-brain."

"Hmm, you sound like a stubborn guy, just be careful." the silverhead said as he entered the half-empty classroom, Iruka right after him. They sat in their usual seats, Iruka pulling some books for the class they were having and the silver haired man did the same thing as ever - putting his legs up on the desk and an Icha Icha in his left hand. Iruka could bet he had read that book at least 10 times now. 'I mean seriously, he doesn't let it go out of his hand.'

* * *

 _ **-four days later, Friday-**_

Iruka was sitting on a desk in the nursery, working on some files. The nurse asked him to write some names because she had an important meeting and he was the second person after Shikamaru, who was just too lazy to do it. Iruka had agreed mainly because his class was having Sports right now and he was sure that the others would've tried to break his bones, even though he really liked the teacher.

But Kakashi was there and he was staring at a single point for some time while the others were playing basketball around him.

"Pass! Hatake!"

The silverhead's train of thoughts was crashed. Well, more like his face. With a basketball. And his left eye took the blow. He groaned.

"Hey, are you okay there? Where were your thoughts off to? Don't get distracted in the middle of the game!" the teacher, Mr. Uzumaki said.

"Kakashi, let us see if you're injured!" some girls yelled, excited.

"Thanks but I can take care of this by myself. I'll just go to the...nurse..." Oh how he actually hated that woman. She had a really bad temper and lectured whoever gets hurt about how the youngsters were never careful.

He went up the stairs, removing his eyepatch in the process. He felt his cheek swell and put his hand over it. He knocked at the door and came in. Just when he was about to say "Good morning, Mrs. Haruno." he widened his good eye in surprise. He saw a certain tanned man, sitting on that desk of Haruno's and working on something.

"Iruka?"

"Hm?" he asked, not even looking up. He was so concentrated, he barely noticed tha man entering the room. But when he raised his gaze, his eyes met someone unexpected. "Hatake? What are you doing here?"

"What would I possibly do in the school infirmary? Obviously because I hurt myself." He said and poked his left cheek, which started to burn painfully at the contact, to show Iruka. He hissed and sat down, still waiting. "And what are _you_ doing here? Not that I'm not happy that it wasn't Mrs. Haruno sitting on that desk."

"Just helping her out with some files." Iruka finally stood up. "Let me see." He said and the silverhead moved his hand away from his cheek. It was throbbing and when Iruka brushed it with his finger gently, he winced. But Iruka was more occupied with observing the left part of the other's face. When Kakashi winced, he opened his always covered eye, and to Iruka's surprise, there wasn't anything to hide. Actually, it was the other way around. There really was a vartical scar running over his left eye and eyebrow. But it wasn't gross or anything. Actually, it only added to his attractiveness. And that eye, it was really beautiful. It was a bloody-red color, shining in the dim light of the office. The tan man never expected mismatched eyes. And then, he realized he was staring.

"Stop looking at me like that and do something." the other frowned.

"Don't worry, it's just a little sore." he said and handed Kakashi a bag of ice. "Here, put this over your cheek, it should work. Do any of your teeth hurt?"

"No. I think. But my sight is kinda blurry through my left eye."

"Good, no broken teeth then, I guess. And about the eye, you must be seeing blurry because of the hit. Or maybe because you barely use that eye."

"You would hide it too if everyone was staring at you and asking how you got the scar! Oh, and about that, no telling the others what you saw, alright?" He pointed at his crimson eye. "I think that enough rumors are going around, I don't want to hear even more about the 'Mystery of Hatake'.

"Oh? So you actually care about your reputation? And don't worry, I don't have anyone exept Raidō and Genma so..." he trailed off.

"It's not like I wanted this kind of 'fame'! I don't even know why I'm so popular in the first place! And those girls...so goddamn annoying. Everytime they confess, they say that they are 'different' but every single one is the same. That's why I'm still single!"

"Woah, _you_ are single? And here I thought that a guy like you would even be two-timing."

"Hey, I'm not that type of guy you see me as! I would never cheat on someone, even if I don't look like that!"

"Sorry, sorry. But I was really serious." Iruka chuckled when the other pouted. 'So even he can be cute too, huh? Wait, wait, wait! We are both guys damn it! What's wrong with me..."

"Oh well, I'll go back because I don't want the others to ask me what took me so long." he said while putting the eyepatch back in its place. "And remember, what you saw just now, you never actually saw it, okay?

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. And be careful next time."

"So you don't want me to visit you here again? But I enjoyed all the attention you gave me." the paler man teased.

"Get out, you jerk!" Iruka _almost_ blushed, even though he knew that the other was joking.

* * *

After the Sports class, Iruka was done with his work. He heard a knock on the door and saw the pink haired woman enter.

"Hello, Iruka. Did you have any problems while I was gone?"

"No, Mrs. Haruno, Kakashi came with a swollen left cheek but we took care of it."

"I'm glad that everything was fine. Thank you for your hard work, I owe you one. You are free to go, if there isn't anything else you want to say."

"Thank you, Mrs. Haruno."

When he entered the classroom, he heard loud cheers.

"Woah! You just beat _Shikamaru_!? And on top of that, at shogi!?"

'Wait, what? Someone who can beat him actually existed? And from _my_ class exactly? What the...' Shikamaru wasn't from his class, obviously, because he was the smartest student of the year. 'Who could have possibly beaten _him_?' And then, as if someone read his mind, he heard.

"Kakashi! How the hell did you do that!?"

'Huh!? Kakashi? There was no way that idiot could beat someone like Shikamaru! I mean seriously, even his grades are terrible! He probably cheated or something...Yeah, that must be it...'

He sat on his desk and waited patiently for the teacher, trying to ignore all the noise behind him.  
He glanced at the clock. The teacher was late with 20 minutes already!

"Haha! Looks like he really fell for it!" He heard someone laugh. 'What did they do this time? Maybe a prank or something...Which meant that the whole lesson, everyone would do whatever they want. Iruka wondered if he should read a book or just stare through the window. But then he heard a ring coming from his pocket. It was his phone. He checked it and saw that he has a new message.

 _"Hey, 2morrow there's a party at 'The Play-Z', wanna join us with Raidō and some other friends?"_

 _-Genma_

Iruka wasn't the party-type so he was just going to tell them that he was busy. But just when he was about to send the reply, he recieved another one.

 _"We insist, I know that you are not busy, and that you're not that kind of person but hey, why not give it a try? There is always a first time for everything."_

 _-Raid_ _ō_

He was right. There's always a first time for everything...He sighed in defeat and replied.

 _"OK, I guess I'll b there then...What time?"_

 _-Iruka_

 _"About 10p.m., meet us at the entrance. We'll stay till late, just so you know."_

 _-Raid_ _ō_

Iruka was used to staying up until late. But not at parties of course, just with a book or phone in his hands in the bed. He may sound like a bookworm reading about some boring stuff but he was actually more into the action genre of books. Mostly dragons and ninjas. He wasn't as boring as he looked like, it's just that he was too shy to start a conversation first. Good thing that Raidō was his childhood friend and through him, he met Genma, too.

* * *

While Kakashi was exiting the university, he heard loud footsteps approaching. Then, he saw a certain black haired man in the university's uniform but with a green tie and jeans instead of blue. He could never even dare to wonder who it was. It was just too obvious, even from the distance.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival! What are your plans for tommorow?" he yelled from far away.

"Ah, hi there, Gai. Well, I was going for a walk with Pakkun and then...ugh, nothing really."

"Then let's see who can edure more push-ups, right here, right now!" the black haired man said cheerfully, after going up the stairs to stand next to the other.

"I'm not in the mood for a challenge today though..." Kakashi said and poked his left cheek as a hint of what he meant.

"Oh, no! What happened to you, did you get into a fight?"

"You know that I wouldn't, and if I did, you know that they wouldn't manage to even touch me anyways." He sighed. "I was just distracted while we were playing basketball and...well, yeah..."

"Hmm, that's not like you, what could possibly get you so distracted? I don't remember anything getting your interest in like...ages...!"

"Nothing, really."

"You know that you can tell me, I'm your best friend, after all!" Gai said, grinning widely, almost blindingly.

"Yeah, I was thinking about, ugh...dolphins." Kakashi lied. 'I hope that sounded random enough for him to not question me more...'

"Hmm...They say that there is a truth behind every lie!" he beamed and started murmuring something. "Let's see...dolphins...dolphin...hmm...Iruka...Iruka?...OH! Wasn't there a guy named like that in your class?"

'So Gai could actually see through me that easily? Or was it obvious? No, not for the normal people, at least...I can't believe he actually saw underneath the underneath' Kakashi thought. "Well, that was unexpected. Yes there is but how do you know?"

"You know that I train Aikido, right? Well, he's not from our group but I've seen him plenty of times. He's not much of a talker but is one of the best. So, what exactly were you thinking about him?"

"Ugh, it may sound weird but even if he's my classmate, we've never talked before. Well, untill today, that is. And now, after what you said, I'm even more, like umm...curious about him?" They started walking down because they were in the middle of the university's stairs. "I mean, everyone from the class treats him like trash, I don't get why he doesn't defend himself. Some days ago, I saw a classmate threathen him and pin him against the lockers. If I wasn't there, he would've been punched, really hard. He even said that he didn't need to be protected because if he wanted to, he could do it himself. Which got me really confused, I somehow feel bad about him. And...Ugh, why are you looking at me like...that?" It was like sparkles could be seen in Gai's eyes.

"You can't be serious..!" the black haired man widely smiled, excited about something.

"Gai?"

"Kakashi! Do you, by any chance, you know...LIKE HIM?" he said, practically yelling the last part, getting some weird stares of the little people around, mostly girls.

"Gai, keep it down, damn it!" the silverhead hissed, his pale face now changing into a light, pink shade.

"Ooh! I never thought that I would be alive when _you_ fall in love! Now this is what I call 'unexpected'!"

"I didn't say anything like that!...I just...only thought that he was kinda c-cute and..yeah, nothing more. We barely talked anyway." Kakashi stuttered, making it even more obvious, lightly scratching the visible part of his vertical scar. "Whatever, I'll go home, it was a long day for me and I wanna rest."

"No need to be shy, my rival! Love is a beautiful thing!" Gai followed him. "Oh, I almost forgot the reason I came! I asked you if you had any plans for tomorrow and you said that you don't. I heard that there was a party at 'The Play-Z', wanna join me, Asuma and Kurenai? I think it would be fun and who knows, your 'Ruka might be there too!"

"I don't think he's that typ of person but...I'll come anyway, what time?"

"At 10 p.m. But you can remember it as 9 p.m. so you wouldn't be late."

"Very funny...Okay, I'll see you there then.."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** So, as I said, this is a big plot-twist indeed! xD I hope you like it, I'm planning to make this a little longer than usual, as you can see, this chapter was 4k+ words, and I usually make my chapters around 2k words. Sometimes I wonder why I enjoy writing Gai's speeches so much...You can't hide anything from your best friend Kakashi, I know that from personal experience~  
If you have any questions, feel free to ask! R&R and see ya in the next chapter!~

-Blur


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ Hi~ I don't know if this is a late or early update because my days are passing sooo slowly =w= First, I was having an Art Block and cursed over it so much, then something happened and I was writing 6 hours non-stop, inspiration overflow...I was planning to make this only 2k words but it didn't seem interesting like that so here's the full work, enjoy o3o

* * *

 _ **-(Kakashi's P.O.V.)-**_

 _Don't you sometimes wonder, what's the purpose of life? Some people say it's love and family, others say it's all about the memories. Well, I never had either of those. All of my real friends are now dead and so is my whole family. I live alone in this grey world and that will never change, no matter how hard I try. But then again, what's the point of life? Days, weeks, months and years pass but everything is still the same. It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Light when day, dark in the night. Old people die, new are born. Rich people have everything and give nothing, poor people have nothing but are ready to give everything. We grow up, go to school, work and die, leaving barely anything for the others to remember us. But why? Everything is always the same. Behind every sea of happiness, there's an ocean of sadness. And yet, why do people always try to give their best, knowing that someday their little perfect world will crash down? I'm walking down a pitch black road but unlike for most people, no light comes to save me from the darkness...  
_

I gasped and jumped up, finding myself under the covers of the bed, now sitting in the middle of it. I hate mornings. Again with that dream. I shot a quick glance at the alarm on the nightstand. It was almost 8 a.m. I slowly stood up, moving the blanket away. I opened the curtains, frowning at the sudden light meeting my face. Pakkun was still sleeping quietly in the corner of my bed. I went to the kitchen, after putting some clothes on, boiling some water to make tea. I never liked coffeé, even though I needed it sometimes. Time like these. After waking up from my usual dreams about the boring side of life.  
'What happened yesterday..? Oh yeah, I promised Gai to join him at the party...When was that? 9p.m.? Probably.I better not be late this time. Nevermind, I _always_ say that but still am late.'

Then, I heard a loud 'thump' coming from the bedroom.  
"Oi, Pakkun, come over here, I know that you are awake! Breakfast is ready for you. I'll take you to the park after that." I said with a still sleepy, hoarse voice.  
He soon came out of the other room and growled lowly. He wasn't a morning-pup either.

"Come on, buddy. It's not like I love waking up early and on top of that, on Saturday. So don't put that grumpy face. I could barely sleep so you're not the one to complain." I said while putting some dog food in his bowl. Then I went to the fridge to get something for myself.

"Hmm, fried eggs will do. I'm not hungry anyway.

I looked at the pug, which was now eating in silence. Pakkun is actually the only alive part of my friends(except Gai). He is my family. My best friend. Yes, my life is partly the same as other people's. But most of them find happiness. Together. That's the different part. I may be famous but no one really got my interest.

Well, this is, until _he_ came. We are quite the opposites, true. He works hard, he really does, but no one is there for him. He would be happy if he had more friends. He is always calm and composed. But yet, no one likes him. And here I am, not even trying but being 'the most famous guy of the university'. I don't have much friends even though everyone likes me.

We still have similarities though. He lives alone, _just like me_. He doesn't have a family, neither many friends, _just like me_. He seems to have a rough past, _just like me_. And that scar of his just confirms it. _Just like mine_. My thoughts were interrupted by a low bark. I quickly fried the eggs and after eating, still lost in thoughts, I grabbed the dog collar and put it on the pug. When I found the keys, we went out and I locked the door of my big apartment.

We headed to the park. It was sunny and the sun was shining happily but my morning mood was still not gone and I was as grumpy as Pakkun is right now. I just wanted this day to end because I'd have to see too much people at the party and I'm sure that no one will take my interest. Like always. We arrived and I set the dog free to run around with the others while I sat on a wooden bench under a tree and took my Icha Icha out of my pocket. Time was passing really fast, just like I wanted it to, and I realized that I've been staring at a single page for a good half an hour. I glanced at my watch, 3.37 p.m. But then, when I looked around, I couldn't spot Pakkun. I checked again but I couldn't find him between the other dogs. I jumped quickly in panic. 'Where did he wander off to?' I knew he was a clever dog and that he would be able to escape but why would he do that? Maybe _I_ did something wrong? I really didn't pay him as much attention lately...I started looking around and saw some people exiting the park. I approached them and asked.

"Excuse me, have you seen a little, brown pug with a blue collar? He answers to the name 'Pakkun'." They looked at each other, expecting the others to answer but...nothing. Then suddenly, one of them remembered.

"Oh! I saw it going to the South part of the park. I thought that it was a bit weird for it to be alone but I didn't think of it much. Sorry, I wish you good luck with finding him though."  
I just nodded and dashed towards the South part. I can't lose him, not him exactly. I hate living alone and he is my only reason to go straight home after the day at the university.

* * *

Three hours passed and still no trace of the pug. I was losing my last drop of hope now. I was tired and spent so I sat down to rest for a bit. I had asked every single person I came across but still nothing. This was too much. I buried my face in my palms, resting my elbows on my knees, sighing in frustration. I've lost so much in the past and now if I lose Pakkun, and in such a stupid way, I don't know what I woul do. Sometimes, I wish he could talk. Even if he couldn't though, he seemed to understand me and my feelings most of the time. Now what? Where am I supposed to look for him...? I was becoming desperate. I started thinking of the worst possible scenes that could have happened to him. But then...

"Hatake-san?" I heard a soft and caring voice calling for me. But I didn't react, neither I raised my gaze to see whose familiar voice this was. That is, until I heard a light bark. I quickly looked up and widened my eyes. It was _him_. Iruka, smiling, and a little pug resting in his arms. I gasped and jumped up.

"I found him on my way to 'The Play-Z'. He was following me everywhere I went so I finally stopped and picked him up. I assume that he is yours, judging by the way you re-" I hugged them both tightly, recieving a surprised gasp from the brunette and a quiet growl from the dog in return.

"Thank you, you have no idea how worried I was about him, really." I smiled at the light blush on the tan man's cheeks as he handed me Pakkun. Why would he follow Iruka!? Did he smell Iruka's scent on me and understood my feelings? This dog... Wait, Iruka was going to the party!?

"N-no problem, it was pure luck that I saw you while I was passing by, you just looked sad and I was a bit concerned so I decided to ask you about it. But I see why, now. He must be important to you." The brunette reached out to pet the grumpy animal which, to my surprise, leaned into the touch.

"Yeah, we are inseparable since I was 12."

"Woah, that's a lot! Well, I'll be going then, see you at the university, I guess." he said, and waved goodbye with a smile. 'Hmm, we'll see each other earlier than you think. I better get going now, I have a little pug to take care of and some hours left.' I thought and headed to my apartment.

* * *

 _ **-(Normal P.O.V.)-**_

Iruka was walking through the park on his way to "The Play-Z". He decided to go to the party earlier because he had nothing better to do and now he had some things, or more like someone and his past actions, to think about.

'He's acting so differently than how he does at school. At the park, for a second I thought I saw unshed tears in his eyes. And when he saw the pug, he was so happy, he subconsciously hugged me. I think? Ugh, I better clear my mind off.' he thought and when he arrived to the said building, he sat on a bench nearby.

Time passed unexpectedly fast while he was still on his train of thoughts. He looked at his watch, it was still 9.20 p.m. But then, he saw the target of his thoughts running towards the building.

"Hatake-san? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm here for the party!"

"Ah, I see. But why so early?"

"What do you mean early? I'm late with about...20 minutes or so..."

"Huh? But the party starts at 10."

"What!? Are you sure?" the silverhead asked and continued after he got a nod in a reply. "That Gai! He must've told me 9 so I would be just in time. Ugh, I guess that I ran for nothing then..." he said, still a little breathless. 'Not exactly nothing though.' he thought and sat next to the brunette to catch his breath. "So, what are _you_ doing here when you know it's early?"

"I just wanted to stay out on fresh air and think about some...things." Iruka smiled nervously.

"I didn't know you liked going on parties." Kakashi said, grinning. 'Maybe this is my chance to get to know him better'

"No, umm, actually this is my first time."

"Really? Well, this was both expected and unexpected. What changed your mind then?"

"Raidō and Genma insisted so...they thought that it would be good for me and I'll be able to make new friends but...I don't think so, I won't be staying long anyway. And what about you?"

"Hmm, let's say that I came here, hoping to see a certain person. However, I'm not much into that kind of stuff, it's too noisy and I can't concentrate on my book." Kakashi tried not to sound suspicious.

"So someone could actually get _your_ interest?"

"Maa, that was mean! I'll only tell you that he is a really nice and kind person and he's got brown eyes and hair." Kakashi smirked inwardly.

'"He?" And wait, brown eyes and hair...? No, I'm probably imagining things, why would he come to see, of all people, _me_?' Iruka thought. "Oh, I see..." he chuckled fakely.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival! You actually came here early!" Someone shouted from far away, even though it was obvious who it was.

"Gai! I came here, like, 30 minutes ago! And only because of you!"

"Hello, Gai-san." Iruka greeted.

"Hoo! Iruka! I didn't expect you to come! And Kakashi, how was I supposed to know that _you_ would actually NOT be late this time, for youth's sake!"

"Ehehe, actually I was late with 20 minutes for the time I thought I should be here...But hey, it wasn't an hour like the other times, at least there IS some progress!" Kakashi tried to argue but Gai gave him an 'as expected' look.

'I haven't seen him so lively with anyone else, I guess they are close friends.' Iruka thought.

"Say Kakashi, there still are about 10 minutes left so how does a before-party race sound to you?"

"Gai, please, not in front of everyone." _[This is supposed to be a pun about Iruka but he doesn't know that. Practically, there's no one else but those three around, meaning: 'Kashi's everyone and everything=Iruka]_

"Hey, Iruka, is he always like that?" Gai pouted. "He's so honest with me!"

"It's got nothing to do with honesty! But running before a party!"

"You two..." Iruka trailed off as he fell into laugher.

"What's so funny?" It was now Kakashi's turn to pout.

"It's just that..." Iruka tried to calm down, now lightly chuckling. "You, Hatake-san, are always so serious with the others and now, seeing this side of yours..." he tried not to start laughing again.

"First, please call me just Kakashi, it feels like I'm on a political meeting when you call me by my last name. And second, wasn't it ME who was teasing YOU and not the other way around, when did we switch!?" He asked, his pout never leaving his face.

When Iruka was about to say something, he just froze.

"Iruka? Did I say something wrong?" Kakashi asked before turning to the direction the other was staring at with an obviously paler face than usual. And then he got it. It was Mizuki and him pals.

"Oh...don't worry, just stay around us and everything will be fine."

"I-i can't stay with you the whole time."

"Hm? Why not?"

"I just...don't want to be a burden...and I don't want to involve you in my mess."

"Everything connected with my friends should concern me!"

"F-friend?" Iruka stuttered. 'Did he really mean that?'

"Well, yeah. Even if I'm 'the popular guy' I don't have any friends exept this guy over there," he pointed at Gai, "Pakkun and one more. You're one of those rare people I have no problems to talk with. It's just that...I'm always talked _about_ but never _with_..."

"Sorry, I never thought-"

"Oi, Iruka!" Genma yelled somewhere from the distance. "What's up? Are you having problems with those guys here?"

"No, no, don't get it wrong, Genma!"

"Talk about first impressions." Raidō chuckled as he caught up with his lover.

"Are those the friends you mentioned, Iruka?" Kakashi asked.

"Haa, so you actually made new friends?"

"Yeah." The brunette said with a smile.

"Nice to meet ya then, I'm Genma. I take that you're Kakashi Hatake, right?" he said and shook his hand with the silverhead's, who nodded.

"And I'm Raidō." the brown, spiky-haired man said, smiling and when his and the silver-haired's hands touched, he shook it but also squeezed it really hard, which went unnoticed by everyone else and warned Kakashi to be careful with his childhood friend.

"Hmm, I think we should go." Kakashi said and everyone agreed so they finally entered the disco.

"Asuma and Kurenai are waiting for me so I'll get going, see you later, my rival and friends!" Gai said, "I'm leaving him to you!" he told Kakashi so the others couldn't hear, which got the silverhead confused, and quickly disappeared in the crowd which was growing bigger and bigger. Raidō and Genma seemed to get the hint Gai gave them(a wink no one else probably saw) and left with a "We've got something to do too. And we'll have to find a lovely corner too." Kakashi and Iruka were now the only left part of their little group. They looked at each other and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The music was suddenly turned on, the brunette almost jumped, and the DJ started introducing himself. Iruka now knew why the neighbourhood was complaining about the noise. It was so loud, he could feel the beat in his guts.

"Wanna go to a less noisy place?" Kakashi asked when he noticed.

"If that's possible, then yes please." Iruka had to yell back so the other could actually understand something, he barely could hear himself after all.

"Do you drink?" Kakashi asked even if he was sure what the answer would be. The shorter man shook his head. "Then let's go to the balcony on the 2nd floor." Kakashi took Iruka's wrist gently to lead him in order not to lose him between all the people packed in the place. Iruka blushed at the contact and was just glad that it wasn't visible in the dim light. Or so he thought. On their way they pretended that they didn't see Asuma, Kurenai and Gai who was standing on the bar, singing about something like 'beautiful youth'. Neither did they see Raidō who was already pinning Genma in their 'lovely corner', brushing his lips against the other's neck. Now that was a completely different story. They finally reached their destination and closed the door behind them to deafen the noise at least a little. Iruka took a deep breath of the surprisingly fresh air and sighed.

"I'm going to have nightmares, if I manage to sleep anyway, and headache for the next days." he said, rubbing his temple.

"Haa, so this really is your first party."

"First and last."

Kakashi chuckled and leaned against the stone railing, letting the cool breeze run through his hair, closing his eyes for a moment, much like a dog would. Then, he opened them, letting one of his arms down and resting his head on the other.

"So?"

"What?"

"Don't you know? People usually go to parties to get to know each other better. Tell me about you?"

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Nevermind the 'here's the full work' thing, I thought that I should split it into two chapters because it becomes like...6k words and I don't wanna post chapters longer than ~4k words qwq Forgive me...But the next chapter is already done and written on paper, I'll just have to find time to write it on my laptop. So I'll be starting my work on chapter 4 now, expect an update not later than a week~!

R&R and cya in the next chapter~ ^^

-Blur


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_ Sorry for keeping you wait, this chapter came out really short but I'm just a terrible tease and don't want to publish the good part ;w; Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to continue this via the reviews, I love you! I hope it was worth waiting, **just a slight spoiler - WorldTravel in the next chapter!** I know that judging by it's lenght, this should have been posted earlier(I think? 5 days passed xD) but I've been occupied with school AND a new story! If you want to, you can check it out later, it's another AU, about demons and will be named "Forever in the Demon's claws" but I'm still not sure if I should publish it or wait some time more...Well, enough with the talk, enjoy!~

* * *

"So?"

"What?"

"Don't you know? People usually go to parties to get to know each other better. Tell me about you?"

"O-oh...well,what do you expect me to tell you?"

"Anything, everything? We've got the whole night free."

"But didn't you say that you came here to see _'a certain person'_?

"Yeah, well, do you remember how I described that... _'certain person'_?

"You said that he was nice, with brown hair and eyes..."

"And why did you remember that?"

"Umm, I guess it just reminded me of myself? I don't know about the 'being nice' part but I have brown hair and eyes, too. "

"Exactly."

"Eh?" Iruka asked, feeling confused.

"I came here to see _you_ , Iruka." Kakashi answered with a grin.

"O-oh..." The brunette's face reddened. "Is it that fun to tease me?"

"Wha-No, I mean yes but don't take it like that...I'm not usually like this...usually. I really wanted to know more about you. It's just that...well, it's really rare for someone to start a conversation with me so I thought that we could become friends." Kakashi said with a hint of sadness. 'Or maybe even more?' he wanted to add but he knew that it was too early. He wasn't sure in his own feelings too.

"I'm totally fine with that, at least there will be someone who doesn't hate me in our class."

The silverhead chuckled. "Now, I'm listening."

"Um..let's see...My birthday is on the 26th of May. I live alone, I don't have any relatives either. In my free time...well, you probably already know, I read books. Sometimes I go to the park for a walk to clear my thoughts and..yeah, there's nothing exciting in my life. You probably know most of the things since we're in the same class."

"Ne, I've always wondered, what kind of books do you read? And don't think that I don't know anything about real literature just because I always have one of Jiraya's pieces of art."

"Actually, my favorite is written by him too." Iruka admitted and then added "And no, it's not a part of the 'Make Out' series." when he saw that Kakashi was about to say something, making the silver-haired man pout.

"Hmm...you mean the one about the ninja?"

"Yeah, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja, it was his first book and it actually became the reason I'm so much into reading. I read mostly about ninja and dragons."

"Woah, you're not the person everyone sees you as. You know, everyone thinks that you're reading about some boring stuff for school."

"That's because you guys are too quick to judge!" Iruka frowned.

"True, we're not as clever." Kakashi admitted.

"Now that you mentioned 'clever'...tell me about your shogi game with Shikamaru. You know, it's not like he gets beaten every day. And at shogi on top of that."

"What do you mean? No special method and all, I just did it. And I wasn't really trying since I wasn't in the mood for such a game. You didn't think that I cheated, did you? And how do you know about that? Everyone who saw promised not to tell anyone else."

"It was pretty hard to ignore all of the noise behind me." Iruka said with a flat expression.

"So you were there? Oh, right, we were supposed to have a class with Mr. Hyuga..." Kakashi chuckled.

"You had a hand in it, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

Iruka continued, not really surprised "Back to the subject, if you really _did_ beat him _only_ with pure skill, how come your grades are worse than Mizuki's?"

"Ugh...it may sound really, really weird but...I guess it's a way to keep my best friend's soul next to me, the 'always-being-late-by-at-least-an-hour' is his thing too..."

"Best friend? You mean Gai?"

"No, there's just no way you know him anyway."

"I guess I shouldn't question it." Iruka said when he noticed the brief pause in which Kakashi went into his own world of thoughts and seemed uncomfortable to talk about it.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you...But everytime I remind myself of **that** day...I can't help but wish I had died back then."

"I don't insist to hear it so you can just change the subject."

"Hmm, I think that I should tell you. One day, when I was young, probably around 13, I was out with my karate team - Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei. Obito was a stupid, irresponsible kid at a first glance but he truly loved his friends and was really kind-hearted. We always argued and didn't admit our best-friend's relationship so we claimed it as a rival's one. Rin was a nice and clever girl, she was strong too. Obito was hopelessly in love with her but never had a chance to tell or show her. And Minato-sensei...I couldn't imagine a better teacher than him. He was caring and always managed to teach us the things that seemed impossible. He was like a father to me, he even pulled me out of the darkness in which I fell when my biological father died. But that day went completely wrong. We were out to celebrate another victory but then, the sunny weather turned into a storm. We were in sensei's car, driving to the BBQ restaurant. He was a perfect driver so everyone trusted him. But the wind managed to take down some trees. In the end we got hit by a falling oak and were transported to the local hospital. I was the only one who still had a chance to continue living. But something had gone wrong with my left eye while they were getting me out of the car, which was burning by the time. With his last breath, Obito, who was in the next bed, offered his good eye, the left one, his right side of the body being completely crushed. During the surgery, which was unbelievably successful, that eye turned into a crimson colour but it didn't affect my vision in any way so it was fine. Well, this is it, long story - short."

Iruka seemed stunned. He didn't know about this and somehow regretted for making the silverhead tell him all of this. It must have been painful.  
"Is this why you...hide your left eye? So that people wouldn't question you?"

"Partly. Also, I don't want to be reminded of that day every time I look into the mirror."

"I think that now it's my turn to tell you about my parents. I won't get much into details. I was only 8 back then. It was the weekend and we went out for a family picnic. The day was going so well until we arrived home. Everything was turned upside down. We were being robbed. We managed to get home while the thieves were not done yet. But exactly that was the bad thing about it. The robbers weren't unprepared and had guns. That night was the first time I saw fear in my father's eyes. It wasn't fear for his own life though. It was for mine. In the end, they were both shot in the head but I somehow got out of there alive, though I had fainted. The bad guys probably thought I was already dead because they had injured me. But I was a stubborn kid so I didn't, I survived. One of our neighbours saw me and saved my life. But it was too late for mom and dad. I woke up 4 days after they had died. Since then, I've been living alone. And that's why I've always been reading after that. I escaped reality that way. I guess you can call me a coward because I deserve it. Up until now, nothing changed. I can't even confess to the one I like..."

"Then I should be called a coward too. Since the incident, I never let myself love again. I was too scared. Because everything I had once loved was harshly taken away from me."

"I was never given the chance to love."

"I ca-" Kakashi started but was interrupted by loud laughs and splashes. Both looked at the direction the sound was coming from.

"What are they doing?" the brunette asked.

"Hmm, I didn't know that there was a pool party too..." the silver-haired man trailed off when he noticed that the other tensed. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing...are you...going?"

"Aren't _we_?"

"Well..."

"Iruka, can you swim?" Kakashi guessed, grinning at the flushed face.

"Not r-really...at all..." The other admitted, embarassed, blushing even more when the other started laughing. "Hey, it's not _that_ funny!"

"No, no, it's just that," he couldn't stop giggling, "it's just the irony."

"Huh?"

"Your name, Iruka Umino...It means 'dolphin in the sea', doesn't it?" the silverhead asked, still chuckling.

"Oh, please no. I'm sick of those sea jokes since elementary school." Iruka complained. 'At least I made him happy after that talk...'

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Still, wanna go down? I'm not much into swimming either, even though I can, so I won't leave you alone."

"I d-didn't mean it like that, that's not the problem! And you probably shouldn't stick around me much."

"Why not?" Kakashi tilted his head in a way a dog would.

"Well, you know, you're popular and being around me..."

"Will ruin my reputation? I would be glad to be honest, I'm tired of this 'fame'. And don't even think about this. Now, c'mon, let's go down." the pale man pulled Iruka with him, before the other could protest.

"Okay then, if you're sure."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Bam, cliffhanger :^)  
I have no idea when the next update is coming and all but don't expect it as soon as the previous updates, I have some problems in my family and...yeah, I shouldn't talk about this now so, R&R and see ya in the next chapter~

-Blur


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ Hey there!..Sorry for the late update but please understand me, I'm too busy with school qnq I left with the worst cliffhanger because the story just begins and you saw nooothing~ :3 I hope people don't mind this becoming a long fiction because I'm planning to do it like that :D Oh well, I hope the wait was worth it, enjoy ^^

* * *

The building was now almost empty and a big part of the crowd was now around the pool.

"Hey Gai."

"Oh, my rival! How are you two doing?" the raven haired man asked when he turned around and realized who greeted him.

"Um, fine, I guess. So, what's going on here? And why is your hair wet?" Not just wet. It was like he was standing under the rain for hours and just came home.

"Pool party! We had a little diving competition, guess who won, haha! It was really fun, you know, why didn't you guys join us earlier?"

"Was?"

"Yeah, we started an hour ago! And ended about 5 minutes ago. They are going to drain the water from the ground pool soon."

"An hour? What time is it now?"

"Hmm, it should be around 11.40 p.m."

"What!?" Iruka and Kakashi said at the same time and looked at each other.

"Yeah, where were you two? If I can know of course."

"We were on the balcony, if you must know." the silverhead gave his friend a 'be-careful-what-you're-going-to-ask' look.

"Hoo? Why didn't you dance or something? We thought that we had just lost you in the crowd."

"We both don't like the noise so..." Kakashi trailed off, giving his rival another look, 'it's-not-like-I-didn't-want-to'. It was really amazing how they knew each other so well that they could understand each other, without actually speaking. And the silver haired man was glad.

Iruka was looking awkwardly at the men that were exchanging looks and raised a brow.

"Iruka!" he heard Raidō shout out.

"Ne, Kakashi, I'll go and check why they are calling me."

The silverhead nodded and continued his conversation, this time with words.

"Hey guys. Is there something wrong?"

"Why should something wrong happen for us to call you? So, how was it?"

"What..?"

"Don't 'what' me, aren't you guys dating or something?"

"W-what!? Where did you get that idea!?" Iruka's face became as red as a tomato.

"Hmm, you may not be but I see that you wouldn't mind." Genma teased, smirking.

"That doesn't matter, even if I did!" Iruka said. "It's not like I have a chance with someone so famous like him..." he muttered but Genma and Raidō heard him anyway.

"Don't think so little of yourself, Iruka!" Raidō frowned. "You have to be more confident! Besides, he seems to have interest in you."

"Yeah, but only as friends."

"Gai doesn't say so." Genma added.

"Gai?"

"While you guys were gone, we talked about you two. He said that Kakashi hadn't talked with someone so openly in ages, except him, as much as he does with you. What did you talk about anyway?"

"Umm.." Iruka thought about it for a second. If Kakashi wasn't talking so openly, then he wouldn't like the others know much about his past too. "We just 'got to know each other better'."

"See? He wants to know more which means that he likes you!"

"No way, he is probably just looking for something more to tease me abou-!" the brunette stopped before he embarassed himself even more.

"He teases you?" the smirk reappeared on Genma's face.

"I mean...Ugh whatever."

"C'mon, you obviously like him, and so does he, so why do you keep denying?"

"I just..." Iruka started but didn't say anything else.

"Look. I'll ask you this: Do you like him and would you go out with him?"

Iruka looked down and said. "I do but that's not the problem! You see, he is the most famous guy in the whole univesity and he's probably asked out often and because of that, he finds it annoying already. So why would I make any difference?"

"Because he likes you too damn it!" Genma raised his tone almost too high. "Don't you get it? He probably said that because he gets asked out by _girls_! Get it through your thick skull, he said that as a hint that he prefers guys over girls! I can't believe that _you_ , of all people, would be so slow in such a situation!"

"Well, you surely know that this is the first time I fall in love..."

"Yeah, but still..." Genma felt a hand on his shoulder signaling him to drop it. "Ugh okay, I'll leave it to you then but if there is a problem, you can count on us! And you better make a move soon." Genma finished, pointing at all the girls that had their eyes on the silverhead.

Iruka looked at the said man. He was still talking with Gai about something, not even bothering to notice the stares he was getting, and the brunette was sure the pale face was redder than usual. Was it possible that Gai was teasing him? 'That is a must-see thing' he thought but decided not to interrupt and to go around the pool to pass time. He got lost in his thoughts and stopped when he finished his little walk. He looked into the clear water, only to see his own reflection and Mizuki's one...

"Huh..?Mizuki?" he noticed the grin(or was it smirk?) on the other's face. "Oh God, he's not going to-!" he couldn't even finish his thoughts before he was pushed into the water harshly. He couldn't react on time and fell with a loud splash.

'Oh no, not water! I can't swim..!' he thought while trying to keep himself above the water, failing miserably.

* * *

"...and so on, so just please don't-" Kakashi was talking with Gai when he suddenly heard a loud splash. He turned to the direction it was coming and saw Iruka, gasping for air in the pool, and Mizuki and his guys laughing, surrounding him. Then it hit him. Iruka couldn't swim! There was no one in the pool to help him and even if there was, he would probably join laughing too. The silverhead snapped and quickly dashed towards the brunette.

"Hold on, Iruka!" Kakashi yelled, which surprised most of the people around. He took off his shirt while running, to at least not get his top wet, and jumped into the pool, which was deeper than he expected. He approached the other man and tried to catch him but couldn't. "Iruka, calm down or we are both going to drown!"

The tan man stopped his movement when he heard Kakashi's voice and let him take him out of the water. But just when everything was going okay, both heard a high crash, which sounded more like thunder*, and felt a strong and piercing pain rush through their bodies. Then, everything went pitch black.

* * *

 _ **-(Iruka P.O.V.)-**_

I started waking up, feeling warm and comfortable, not wanting to even move. When I opened my eyes slowly, the bright sun almost blinded me. I also felt heavy. But what was weirder was that I felt a ticklish sensation on my face. I almost sniffed but looked down. Silver hair. Huh? Hatake Kakashi, that was the answer. He was laying on top of me, unconscious. I almost let my body react and push him aside. 'How did we end up like this? I remember going to that party and all, but then...Ugh...what happened, my head aches so badly...Oh, right! We went out with Kakashi to the pool and then...Mizuki...Kakashi tried to save me but then...everything went black. I just don't remember!'

Then, I felt stirring. 'Wait, what face am I supposed to make when he wakes up!?' I thought. But then, simply nothing happened. Kakashi just continued sleeping peacefully, taking deep and steady breaths. I tried not to shiver as they traveled down my neck. His silver hair was rising and falling down, while I tried to break free from his embrace. I lifted his head gently. His hair was surprisingly soft, it looked like it would be rough judging by it's spiky shape. Then, I noticed something strange. We were wearing completely different outfits! He had a headband with a metal plate on which was engraved a strange spiral symbol. I had it too. But his was covering his left eye and he also had a mask, the only uncovered part of his face being his right eye. Both of us were wearing green flack jackets, under them - dark blue long-sleeve shirts and pants. 'I give up, I can't get away from his grasp.' I sighed audibly and just tried to relax. I took my time to observe his face again. I had to admit that I missed that stupid smirk on the beautiful, pale face, though now he looked even more mysterious. As I was loosing myself in deep thoughts, I felt Kakashi hug me tighter subconsciously(or was it?) and murmur something.

"Nh...Iruka..."

'Wait...did he just...was that my name?' the brunette thought, lightly blushing.

"Hm?" the silverhead hummed, confused. "Iruka? Why am I...?"

* * *

 _ **-(Kakashi's P.O.V.)-**_

I woke up after I felt something warm against me. When I opened my eyes, I was on top of...Iruka? What had happened? I was feeling kind of dizzy. I groaned and after some time of staring at a single point, I realized I was looking at a crimson colored face. Cute, was the first thing I thought but then the headache returned and I clenched my eyes, wincing.

"A-are you alright?" Iruka lightly asked, stuttering. I realized that I was hugging him and quickly released him, hoping that he wouldn't find it weird or even...gross. He stood up and helped Iruka get up too, before answering.

"Yeah, I just felt a little dizzy but I'm okay. So, where are we?" I reached up to scratch the end of my vertical scar but instead of skin, my fingers met cloth. I was even more confused. How didn't I notice that I was wearing a mask? It felt so natural...and I also had something weird over the left part of my face. Iruka probably saw the confusion in my..eye.

"As you just noticed, there are some things that changed for an unknown reason. I feel like I know these outfits but I still don't get it. It feels so familiar..." he said and pointed at the forehead protectors and the new clothes we were wearing.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Well, that's it for now. Phew, I made it. I hope you liked it, R&R and tell me if you do, critiques accepted for sure~

 _*Oh! And one more thing! You may ask yourself, why thunder? Why exactly thunder? Well, I'll give you a little hint - Kakashi's Lightning Release *wink wink*._


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ Hello there! I'm back with a new update~ I hope you enjoy it :3

* * *

 _ **-(Kakashi's P.O.V.)-**_

After deciding to drop the question about the new outfits, we looked around. We were standing in the middle of a meadow, the fresh grass reaching up to our ankles, trees surrounding the area. There was a memorial stone behind us.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked. "Is this some kind of joke? I've never seen such a place in our city..."

"Hmm, neither have I." Iruka answered, approaching the stone. He ran his fingers through the engraved names but then suddenly trembled, widening his eyes.

"Iruka? What's wrong?" I went next to him, looking at the place his fingers stopped at. 'Ikkaku Umino' and 'Kohari Umino' were written there. Then I understood. I guessed that they were his parents and I felt bad because I didn't know what to say. I was never good at cheering people up. Actually, I would make it worse even, so it was better if I kept quiet. I looked through the names again, there were a lot of names that I've never heard of or at least I couldn't remember. But after I passed the most, I felt like my whole body froze. 'Obito Uchiha'. But how is that possible? I was too shocked to hear the little, fast footsteps that were coming towards us.

"Eh? Kakashi, isn't that..." Iruka poked my shoulder to get my attention. I turned around, still confused, but then, I was even more surprised.

"Pakkun!?" I stared at the pug, which was dressed in a blue dog suit and wore the same headband, that just came out of the little forest around us and for a second, just stood in place. 'What's going on?' I thought as it came at me, dashing. Then he simply bit me. He bit me!? But Pakkun never bites! And damn, it was bleeding!

"Hey! What was that for!?" I frowned, not really expecting an answer.

"You actually succeeded in worrying me!" he groaned. 'Huh...?'  
I jumped back, as I said, not expecting an answer at all, and looked at Iruka's face to check if I was still sane or imagining things. Well, he was as shocked as I was, so either we were both crazy or this was real...

" You can talk?" I pointed at the pug, confusion getting the best of me.

"Yes? What's wrong, boss? Did you hit your head or something?"

"Did he just call me boss?" I muttered.

"Yes I did. Just like I do all the time. Hey, Iruka, what's wrong with him, he doesn't act like he usually does!"

"E-eh!? You know my name! Surely this is one weird dream I'm having..."

"Don't make me bite you too to prove you that this is no illusion! I guess you're no better than boss is..." the dog sighed and sat down. "Anyway, we better wait for the others because I don't know what I'm going to do with you two, this is seriously giving me a headache."

"Others?" Iruka and I asked in unison.

"You'll see...just sit down and wait like good boys."  
We did as we were told and looked at each other.

"Ne, Iruka, is this a dream or something? Punch me, I just want to wake up, because, with every passing second, this is getting weirder and weirder. I probably just got drunk at the party."

"I can't possibly hurt you for a stupid reason like that!" Iruka hissed. "What if it's real? And no you wouldn't have gotten drunk, you didn't drink anything at all."

"Now don't tell me that you actually believe it!"

"I can't believe a genius like you, boss, can't figure it out, that this is real. I thought that I already bit you hard enough for you to doubt. At least your stubbornness is still safe."  
'Pakkun is right...' I thought and frowned at the last sentence but couldn't deny it.

I laid down on the soft grass, taking a deep breath. After a good amount of time of staring at the clear, blue sky, we heard another pair of footsteps so we stood up.

"Iruka-sensei!" someone yelled from the distance and in a flash, there was a blonde boy, clinging and hugging Iruka, crying and sobbing. 'Wait, sensei?'

"Where were you all this time? Don't scare me like that again!" the boy finally calmed down and looked up to Iruka, who obviously had no idea what was going on. I could finally see the kid's face and he somehow looked familiar, like everything else here, but I couldn't really remember where I knew him from. And what's with that speed he came out..?

"Who are you..? And why do you call me 'sensei'? Actually, how do you even know my name?" At the moment he spilled those words, both the blonde and the pug looked at the brunette with widened eyes.

"W-what do you mean by who I am? Sensei, did you forget me only for those 4 months!?"

"I...don't know you..."

"It's me, Uzumaki Naruto!" the boy said with a kind of hurt tone and in an instant, Iruka's gaze met mine and we both understood eachother's thoughts.

"Our Sports teacher?" I muttered.

"Teacher? What's wrong with you two, did you forget me too, Kakashi-sensei? I'm no teacher, you two are my senseis!"  
'Huh...Me too?' I thought.

"Oi, Naruto! Step aside, they might be enemies!" We heard another voice coming out of the forest. Soon, a raven-haired boy came out, a pink-haired girl and a blonde woman following him.

"How can they be, teme! It's obviously them!" the noisy kid answered.

"Then how would you explain that they don't remember you!" the other one replied and they started an argument so I just decided to ignore them and observed the others. The girl looked like someone I knew and rose an uneasy feeling inside me. And about the woman...'Oh God, you're kidding.' Do you know what's worse than our nurse..?

"The principal? Or is it just my imagination?" I heard Iruka whisper to me, like he had heard my thoughts.

"Yep, it surely is her...But then, who are those children? Maybe hers or..?" I muttered back. "Ne, Tsunade-sama, what's going on? We were at the party and then...how did we end up here?" I asked the woman.

"Ho? So you at least remember me? I guess your memory is not completely gone then. And what party are you talking about, brat?"

"N-no, nothing at all!" I waved my hand as a signal to drop it. 'That's the principal, you idiot!' I mentally facepalmed.

"Well, whatever. Let's go back and we'll talk about it in my office. Follow us, you two." she said and we started walking, entering the forest again.

There was nothing unusual in the nature here. I'm really starting to lose my doubts about this being only a dream. Both me and Iruka were walking behind the others, utterly confused. They were talking about something, but we couldn't hear them. Then, Tsunade-sama turned around to face us, threw a look over both of us and then smirked. Now what was that for? Maybe she knows somthing..?

"You two, how close are you? Actually, what do you remember?" I asked.

"C-close?" I unintentionaly stuttered. "What do you mean 'what do we remember'?" I asked.

 _ **-(Normal P.O.V.)-**_

'There's something wrong here. It's like their memory is not gone, but more like replaced...And is it just me or do they look a bit younger?' The blond woman thought. 'We better hurry up and talk about this in my office.' she frowned, leaving a confused silverhead without an answer.

Soon, the group arrived at the Konoha gates. Iruka and Kakashi stared at the huge walls in awe.

"Izumo, Kotetsu, come here. Sorry to bother you two while at work but I want you to call all of the squads that were looking for those two. Tell them that our mission is completed and they can rest. I'll be at my office with them." she pointed back at said people. "Also, tell Gai, Genma and Raidō to come and see us as soon as possible. I'll need their help and support since they are their close friends. It seems that our stupid couple has a replaced memory." she said in a quieter tone. Both guards nodded in understanding.

"We are glad that they are back at last. They were almost marked as dead. Good thing that Naruto was stubborn enough to search for them those 4 months or we would've given up on them." one of them said.

Iruka was curious who Tsunade was talking with so he decided to take a peek. 'Wait a second...Aren't they my classmates? The ones that bullied me along with Mizuki...'. Kotetsu noticed Iruka staring and smiled, waving at him, to which the brunette widened his eyes in disbelief. 'Weeren't they supposed to hate me or something..?'

"Everyone, except Iruka and Kakashi, you're dismissed. And you two, follow me." Tsunade ordred.

"But I want to stay with Iruka-sensei!" Naruto groaned but changed his mind when the woman shot him a glare.

When the kids finally took their paths home, Tsunade remembered the pug that was standing there silently, not sure about what to do. "Tsunade-sama?"

"You are coming too, Pakkun. I'll need your help."

* * *

When they arrived at the Hokage office, the blonde signaled them to sit down. Pakkun looked at Kakashi with those puppy eyes, Kakashi shook his head and smiled, taking the dog in his lap. She got lost in thoughts for a second because she wasn't sure where to start from.

"Hmm. I'll need you guys to tell me what you can remember. Like where you think that you live, for example."

Kakashi was the first one to speak. "We live in a big city in Japan. We were studying in the same university and live alone without a family."

"Reputation?"

"Kakashi is 'the famous guy' and I'm a person with no friends and simply everyone hates me." Iruka said flatly.

"I see...What about the people you met until now?"

"You, Tsunade-sama, are the principal. Izumo and Kotetsu are my classmates, which, along with Mizuki, are bullying me..." the woman looked up, surprised, at the brunette's words because the two men would never do something like that and were really nice. "Also, I've never seen the kids from before, but Naruto Uzumaki is our Sports teacher's name." Iruka admitted.

"Never heard of Uchiha Sasuke?"

"That's...our Maths teacher." Kakashi added.

"And Haruno Sakura?"

"..." the silverhead frowned, "It's the nurse..."

"Meaning that they are older...this is really going to be complicated. One last thing." Tsunade looked at the dog, sitting in its owner lap and asked hesitantly. "How deep is your relationship for now?"

"R-relationship..?" Iruka stuttered, his face bright red. "Tsunade-sama-!"

"I see." the blonde interrupted. "Hmm, it seems like your memory really has been replaced, just like I feared it would be." Tsunade stated. 'Even though I don't sense anything unusual in their chakra...' she thought. "And, I don't know if you are going to like this but..." she trailed off, taking her time to observe the others' faces, which were obviously expecting something really bad. But the pause was too long so Kakashi brought her back to Earth. "C'mon, just say it. It just can't possibly be weirder than a speaking pug," he heard the creature in his lap growl, "our teachers actually being our students and you being...whatecer you are..."

Tsunade took a deep breath and finally said it, "Here, you two are actually married." and almost laughed when she saw the shock on the wide-eyed, red faces.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ BADUMTSSS, PLOT TWISTS EVERYWHERE!*throws some random things at the monitor* *casually starts speaking* Hey guys, I was wondering if you mind me extending the story and adding an OC or two because I have some pretty good ideas that were sitting patiently in my notebook since forever and I wanted to use them. Maybe like, 50k words max? I don't know myself to be honest q-q  
 _Also, this is going to be a sequel to another one of my stories, "By Accident", go and read it if you want, as far as I remember, you don't need to read it to understand the plot but there are some changes so it's your choice._


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_ Sorry for the late update guys T^T A lot of things happened...And I left with such a bad cliffhanger D: Hope you enjoy~

* * *

Kakashi was actually happy that he was wearing a mask, which partly hid his bright red face. Even though he was sure that it was visible.

"Haa, by those reactions, I see that wherever you two were, you weren't in a deep relationship." Tsunade's smirk never left her face. "Well, just so you know, it's been more than 2 years since...one of you proposed to the other," she didn't want to say too much, because if she did, it would get even more awkward than it was for them, "and even more since you two are together."

'Hmm, I wouldn't mind this being the reality.' Kakashi mentally smiled.

"Now, to the serious part-" the woman was interrupted by the loud slam of the office door.

"My eternal rival! You're back, I knew that you were alive!" Gai practically yelled with teary eyes, and went to hug the silverhead, who swiftly dodged the bear hug.

"Iruka!" both Raidō and Genma beamed.

'At least those three don't seem any different.' Iruka thought, his now not red, but tan face showing happiness.

"You guys, that's not how you enter! At least not when we were just getting to the serious part!" the blonde woman looked at the black-haired man.

"Excuse us, Tsunade-sama, we tried to stop him but the moment he heard about the news, he dashed to your office and we could barely catch up with him." Raidō explained.

Tsunade just sighed and continued. "As I said before, it seems that your memory was replaced by something or someone. Give me 3 days or so. I'll look into it. Till then, your friends will help you to get used to your 'new' life. I'm counting on you three. You are free."

Then, everyone left the room. "So, where are we going now?" Kakashi asked. "Honestly, I'm tired of all the information I had to remember."

"Hmm, you probably had a long day, I suggest you guys to go home and rest a bit, it's getting dark anyway." Genma said.

"Mind if someone tells us where our houses are?"

"Oh, right...Well, you see, you don't live in 'houses'. You live together." Raidō chuckled.

"O-oh. Okay, just show us."

"Gai, can you take care of this? We still have some time until our shifts end."

"Of course, leave it to me, everything for my rival and his...friend! Let's head to your home!" Gai said with that energetic voice of his.

"He hasn't changed...at all." Kakashi muttered and sighed.

"This is a goodbye then! Good luck." Both Genma and Raidō waved.

'Good luck? I have a strange feeling about this...' The silverhead thought.

* * *

On the way, it was pretty silent. Gai knew that the two were thinking about each other and wondered how they will react when they find out that they used to share a bed. Then, finally, Iruka broke the silence.

"Hey, Gai, can I ask you some questions?"

"Hm? Oh yes, of course!"

"Can you tell me more about that blonde kid? He feels familiar..."

"You mean Naruto? Ehh, so you really don't remember him. Well, he is like a son to you, if you must know. He's not one of your students anymore, but he used to be. Everyone hated him, but you, you were the first one to accept him as a normal human being, even if he has the monster that killed your parents sealed in him."  
"Gai, let's not talk about that." Kakashi interrupted when he saw Iruka's eyes darken with sadness.

"Oh, sorry. So, like I was saying, he saw you like a father figure, since he doesn't have parents."

"I see...it must have been quite painful, the fact that I couldn't remember at least him." the brunette ducked his head.

"Don't feel bad about it, it's not like it's your fault." the silverhead said. After a brief pause, he added, "Ne, Gai. What happened to...Rin, Obito and Minato-sensei? Are they...?" and trailed off.

The black-haired man took a deep breath and told him everything he knew, finishing with: "But there's no need for you to think about those kind of things. Tsunade-sama will find a way to return your memories, I'm sure of that! Just enjoy your free days before she sends you to some S-ranked missions." he joked. Partly.

"Missions? Now that you mentioned it, what's with these uniforms and all? And do we work?" Kakashi asked.

"..." Gai paused for a second. 'This is going to be a long walk..' he thought. "Ah, you see, to sum it up, you are an elite ninja and you serve the village very well. It was hard those four months when you were missing. Oh, and you, Iruka, are a teacher at the village's academy. You used to teach the three kids from earlier. Now they're under Kakashi's supervision. So, not only Kakashi goes to his regular missions but also takes low ranked ones with them and trains them. Together, they form team 7."

"Oh God, this is getting complicated. What am I then, a ninja too?" Iruka asked.

"Yes, you're teaching genin, the lower ranked ninja, and you're getting them ready for their chunin exam. Your rank is chunin and Kakashi's a former ANBU, now being a jōnin-sensei. The children changed you a lot, you know?" the man chuckled. "Oh! We're here!" he pointed out and both Kakashi and Iruka looked at the house they were in front of. It was already dark so they couldn't really say much about its appearance.

"Is there something which is expected of us to do tomorrow?"

"Hmm, no but let's meet up because there are a lot of things we need to discuss. I'll get Raidō and Genma and then come here around...how about 2 p.m.?"

The others nodded and waved goodbye before entering the building.

* * *

They took off their shoes and hung the flak jackets. The house was pretty spacious. The room they entered looked like a living room. Iruka saw another door and from pure curiosity, he decided to check it out, only to reveal a king-sized bed. There was also a shelf with books on the wall. He came closer and when he saw the name of the first book, he didnt even bother to check the others. 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

"Looks like this is your room." he said but didn't recieve any answer, so he left the bedroom and looked around. When he heard a crunching sound, he peeked to the room across him and found the silverhead, his hands full of...sweets? He raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, mouth full of candies, which muffled his question. He gulped down the food and added. "Never seen a person with sweet tooth? Or perhaps you want some?"

A moment of silence fell and then the brunette started laughing.

"What's so funny?" the other pouted.

"It's just that I've never imagined a person like you having an obsession over sweets."

"Why so?"

"I don't know, maybe because you're a serious person…well, most of the time."

"Hmm, you think so..? By the way, since you entered that room, I decided to check the others, then I got lost in thoughts , mainly about the quetion 'Why the heck am I hiding my face with a mask?' and thought that I have a troublesome scar or something but seems like there's no difference so I removed it."

"But is it really okay to show it? I mean, there surely is a reason you're hiding it."

"Even if there was, you already knew how I looked like, and we're going out in this world, too, so there's no way that you've never seen me. I'll keep it on when we are with the others."

Iruka nodded and remembered the reason for looking for the silver-haired man.

"I think that I found your bedroom."

' _My_ bedroom? Wait a second…if we are married then…' Kakashi thought. "Oh…and what makes you think that it's…you know what, just lead the way." 'Maybe there are two bedrooms anyway, we'll see…'

Iruka showed him the way. When the silverhead entered, his guess was right. He saw the big bed and almost let his face redden at the realization.

"Since there is just no way that I would read _this_." the brunette picked up a green book from one of the shelves. "I assume that this is where you sleep."

Kakashi glanced at the other books and quirked a brow. He really had all of the volumes of his favorite novels but they definitely weren't that much and there wasn't only one shelf, so he decided to take another book.

Yes, he was totally right. This was not his bedroom. It was theirs. He handed the book to Iruka, who seemed to recognize it immediately, judging by his red face.

"If you mind me sleeping next to you, I can just sleep on the sofa in the living room." Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"T-There's no way that I would let you sleep there because of my 'good'. The bed is big enough for both of us." Iruka stuttered. 'I can't believe that I'm acting like a teenager in love!' he thought.

The silverhead decided to take a bath, while the brunette was looking for pyjamas. He checked the closet.

'Ah, I think I found-…' he paused his thoughts and just stood there, staring at the piece of clothing in his hands. It was a very light blue, cotton, with…dolphin patterns. 'There is just no way I'm wearing this…'

* * *

When Kakashi got out of the shower he found Iruka leaning his back on the headboard of the bed, sitting on its left side with a book in his hand and Pakkun in his lap.

"Oh, you're done? I asked Pakkun about some things, he also told me that you sleep with those." he poined at a pile of clothes in the opposite corner of the bed. "I'm going to take a quick shower too, since you were fast."

The silver-haired man simply nodded, his gaze following the teacher as he stood up and disappeared in the other room. Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"What's wrong boss? Need to talk with me?" the pug offered and sat next to its owner. "I've noticed you worrying over something since we exited Tsunade-sama's office."

"It's just that...well, what if we can't return our memories?"

"Tsunade-sama is a medic-nin, the strongest one in the whole village. I highly doubt that she wouldn't find anything."

"Oh..."

"That's not it, is it?"

"I guess I can't hide anything from such a smart pug, huh?" the silverhead smiled weakly. "I was just..." he trailed off unintentionaly.

"Thinking about _him_ , right?"

"Yes. We may be married here but what if he doesn't love me back now?"

"So you guys really don't have anything going on between you? I thought that you were hiding it, judging by all the blushing some moments ago. That's really unlike you, boss."

"No need to mention that!" Kakashi groaned. "Ugh, I'm too tired to deal with a teasing creature like you, maybe you were better when you couldn't speak."

"That was mean, I was only kidding. But you know, I'll tell you this, you're worrying over nothing."

"Why do you think so?"

"I have my reasons." Little did the silver-haired man know that while he was taking a shower, the dog had been talking about him with the brunette. Kakashi stood up and put the clothes that Iruka had prepared for him, just some black boxers and a worn-out T-shirt. He wasn't surprised by this at all, since he used to sleep with clothes like these when he was studying at the university. He then slid under the covers and lost himself in thoughts again.

After a while, Iruka went out of the shower, refreshed. He peeked in the bedroom, silently stepped in and was thankful that the silverhead was asleep. He quickly went to get dressed with something other than _that,_ but then, he heard a familiar voice and almost jumped.

"Are you looking for these?" the man in the bed pointed at the dolphin-patterned pyjamas in his left hand.

"I'd rather not..." Iruka scoffed.

"Embarrassed?" Kakashi smirked.

"I though you were sleeping." the brunette changed the subject.

"C'mon, it's just a garment, and on top of that, for sleeping."

"You just want to make fun of me, don't you?"

"Whatever." the silverhead let out a tired sigh and snuggled closer to his pillow. Iruka knew that it was just some pjs, they looked pretty comfortable anyway, so he quickly put them on while the other gave him some privacy by turning away. Then he got under the covers too, face lightly red and both wished eachother a simple "Good night" before their backs faced each other.

'This is going to be a long night.' Both thought as they closed their eyes and tried not to think much of their situation.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ I hope you liked it, R&R! :3


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